BBQing/smoking suggestion/tips

[damaticous]

About 2 months ago I picked up the Chargriller smokin' Pro with smoke box and have had mild success with it. I've smoked lots of ribs, a few briskets, a few looins, steaks, , dear steaks, dear loin and salmon. the salmon by far was the best tasting and most tender.

After practice I've pretty much got the hang of being able to keep the temp consistent at 210-225. I use wood logs (mostly hickory so far) for heat and smoke.

The problem I'm coming across is that the meat is just drier than I'd like. I know it's going to dry out a little bit, but the ribs and mainly, the brisket is pretty dry.

i know there are a lot of techniques to bbq'n but here is what I do.

get meat. wash down mean with water and sometimes vinager if it has a real strong odor.

I then spread mustard on the meat and put on my dry rub (KC Masterpiece).

Sometimes I sear the meat...depends on how I feel that day.

Then I smoke the meat to desired doneness checking it by using a meat thermotomer.

The last hour or two I start puting on the bbq sauce.

Most of the time I put bacon on and sometimes IN the meat...again depending on how I feel at the time.

But it still comes out pretty dry. I have yet to have ribs that pulled away from the bone and the only tender ribs I have a baby back.

Should I brine or not? Any suggestions?

[Kclee]

Yes to brine. Overnight or even 24 hours.

[Dave Lane]

Add water in the grill. Basically wood burners dry meat out it is unavoidable really.

Dave

[Donger]

My Weber gas grill keeps catching on fire. Well, not the whole grill, but the underside of the grate thingies. Why is that happening?

[Stewie]

Are you using a pan of water in your smoker to add moisture?

It would be tricky to smoke venison without it drying out.

If your ribs are dry you're overcooking them.

Don't put any bbq sauce on until the very end.

Spritz meat with apple juice or similar to add moisture.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by Donger

My Weber gas grill keeps catching on fire. Well, not the whole grill, but the underside of the grate thingies. Why is that happening?

clean it, you lazy slob

[damaticous]

i do put a pan of water in the smoker.

at what tempature are the ribs considered done? It is possible that I am over cooking them...but most of the time they are pretty pink/redish.

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by damaticous

i do put a pan of water in the smoker.

at what tempature are the ribs considered done? It is possible that I am over cooking them...but most of the time they are pretty pink/redish.

cook the ribs until the internal meat temperature is 180-185 F that you will have perfect tenderness ribs. You need to buy a meat thermometer.

[KC Kings]

A lot of meat is going to be dry if you smoke it. It is hard to make good smoked chicken, venison, roast, etc... The easiest I think to start with is ribs. I would get a good rib dry rub, (have not used KC masterpiece), which can be as simple as salt and brown sugar. Don't sprinkle the rub on the ribs, like you would sprinkle seasoning salt on burgers, cake the stuff on and rub it in. I rub it the night before. Cook on low heat for at least 4 hours. I try to keep the grill right at 250. I will use a water pan for some meats, but I never use it for ribs or brisket, the 2 meats I think are easiest to cook.

If your temperature is too low and you have to cook longer than 4 hours, a lot of people I know wrap the meat in foil after 4 hours to help keep the moisture in. If you want good left overs, you should take the meat off of the grill and put it in a cooler for an hour before cutting it. You know how when you cut meat right off the grill all the juice oozes out and you ebd up with a pan full of juice? If you put it in an air tight container and let it cool slowly it will retain the moisture.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by damaticous

i do put a pan of water in the smoker.

at what tempature are the ribs considered done? It is possible that I am over cooking them...but most of the time they are pretty pink/redish.

Don't worry about temperature when smoking ribs. It's more of an appearance and pull test. You never want the meat "falling off the bone." A general rule of thumb is that the meat should expose about 1/4" of the rib bone when done.

[damaticous]

I have a thermometer, but I've been setting it for "pork-Medium" Maybe I am overcooking the ribs.

What about the brisket? Will brining help? any tips on how long to brine a brisket?

[KC Kings]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

cook the ribs until the internal meat temperature is 180-185 F that you will have perfect tenderness ribs. You need to buy a meat thermometer.

But you have to slowly bring it to 180. Cooking the meat a long time melts all of the fat off from the meat and makes it very tender. You can cook ribs on the grill for 45 minutes to get to 180 but the fat will still their and they will still be chewy. That's why some of the worst cuts of meat make the best bbq.

[tooge]

cook the ribs for three hours spraying with apple juice or other mop sauce every hour. then put them in foil and cook them for another 2 hours and they will "steam" and moisten. The last half hour open the foil top and put on the sauce. they will be very moist and tender. Everything else you are doing sounds about right. Remember to remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs.

[tooge]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Don't worry about temperature when smoking ribs. It's more of an appearance and pull test. You never want the meat "falling off the bone." A general rule of thumb is that the meat should expose about 1/4" of the rib bone when done.

Yeah, for competition they want a certain doneness, but everyone I know, including myself like the rib meat "fallin off the bone". I say make it that way. As far as brisket, take the internal temp to 170 then foil and take to 195. Take it off and let it rest for 1 hour before slicing/chopping. dont overtrim the brisket. it need a quarter inch of fat cap (side up on the smoker) to render and moisten the meat. the flats you buy at the store are way overtrimmed. Just by the packer cut and trim yourself.

[KC Dan]

How about some tips for smoking legs?

Man finds human leg in smoker
Purchase at auction results in macabre discovery

MAIDEN, N.C. - A man who bought a smoker Tuesday at an auction of abandoned items might have thought twice had he looked inside first. Maiden police said the man opened up the smoker and saw what he thought was a piece of driftwood wrapped in paper.

When he unwrapped it, he found a human leg, cut off 2 to 3 inches above the knee. The smoker had been sold at an auction of items left behind at a storage facility, so investigators contacted the mother and son who had rented the space where the smoker was found.

The mother, Peg Steele, explained her son had his leg amputated after a plane crash and kept the leg following the surgery “for religious reasons” she doesn’t know much about. “The rest of the family was very much against it,” Steele said.

Steele said her son, John Wood, plans to drive to Maiden, about 35 miles northwest of Charlotte, to reclaim his amputated leg, police said.

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